Songs for a New World- Page 2

[barcelona20]

Posted: 6/27/18 at 9:07am

Wow, they all sound amazing. And man, that Solea Pfeiffer can belt.

[ilovebabyv]

Posted: 6/27/18 at 9:53am

I was at invited dress last night and WOW! Mykal Kilgore is a force to be reckoned with. What a voice (!!!!) and his emotion makes his performance even better.

[Gypsy_Mamma<3]

Posted: 6/27/18 at 10:28am

Don't miss this production. These four sound incredible together, with a well implemented and captivating dance ensemble backing the storylines. The design (specifically lighting) felt bright and distracting. The orchestra was on fire. Only a few minor lyric slips (including a comedic bit where Shoshana shouted "LOUDER!" to whoever was on book in the wings). This piece remains so relevant in the 2018 climate.... get to City Center! 

[electrode10]

Posted: 6/27/18 at 10:40am

So glad to hear this! It's been a while since I've seen a production and I'm excited to see it this evening. Anyone recall the runtime? Still 90 minutes?

[ilovebabyv]

Posted: 6/27/18 at 10:50am

It ran a little longer than that, but I think they started a few minutes late and Jason Robert Brown gave a little speech before. It started at 7:30 and I was out of the theatre by 9:22. Very short!

[musikman]

Posted: 6/27/18 at 12:00pm

Can’t wait for Friday.

[Mildred Plotka]

Posted: 6/27/18 at 12:35pm

Is Shoshanna Bean incapable of singing a song as it was written? And her mini-me in the other role is taking quite a few liberties as well. Pass.

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 6/27/18 at 12:41pm

Mildred Plotka said: "Is Shoshanna Bean incapable of singing a song as it was written? And her mini-me in the other role is taking quite a few liberties as well. Pass."

I feel this way more and more about singers who have to riff every line, every note. It's a talent and MANY great moments in music and musicals exist because the original singer riffed or a musical director told them to go up an octave or something, sure, but if they were doing a scene from, say, A Streetcar Named Desire and Shoshanna just started adding and changing words, would be stand for it as much?

[Mildred Plotka]

Posted: 6/27/18 at 12:45pm

I think that riffing nonsense is fine for pop music, but when you do it every time on every song, one has to wonder if it’s a cover up for lack of actual singing abilities.

[SmoothLover]

Posted: 6/27/18 at 2:05pm

The evening was pleasant enough and the performers all had lovely voices. Some were more invested and crisper story tellers than others. The thread that holds the show together was a little bare and the dancers could have been used a little more sparingly but all in all I enjoyed it. At times the minimalistic staging needed more motivation. The biggest disappointment was feeling emotionally disconnected to the material. 
 

Updated On: 6/27/18 at 02:05 PM

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 6/27/18 at 2:48pm

I'm excited to hear the new orchestrations JRB wrote (adding a string quartet, getting rid of the synth). I've heard great things from people who went last night.

[IlanaKeller]

Posted: 6/27/18 at 5:51pm

Mildred Plotka said: "I think that riffing nonsense is fine for pop music, but when you do it every time on every song, one has to wonder if it’s a cover up for lack of actual singing abilities."

 

Riffing is singing, and usually a complement to the song as written. Unless you are complaining about POOR riffing, how would it be a cover for singing ability? I think a complaint that TOO MUCH riffing may be valid depending on tastes, but I don't think it's a comment on ability.

 

[bwaylvsong]

Posted: 6/27/18 at 8:34pm

Intermission- it's phenomenal! Yes, there's a lot of riffing, intricate runs, and opting up, but it's all dramatically and musically earned and stylistically appropriate. If you don't approve of riffing in the pop/rock contemporary musical theatre idiom, kindly remove the stick from your @$$- this isn't the show for you.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 6/27/18 at 10:24pm

I was there tonight too and really enjoyed the performance. Mykal Kilgore is a STAR. Damn. He reminded me of a young Billy Porter. And Solea Pfeiffer was really lovely too. Always nice to see some fresh, new talent on a New York stage. Loved the new orchestrations and after the painful day in politics, a little hope and comfort at the theater was most welcome. 

A couple thoughts on riffing:

There was a fair amount tonight, but there were equally many moments of restraint. The style of singing definitely felt appropriate in a song cycle like this, where each number is like a mini cabaret performance anyway. If this had been a production of Dear World, then yes, it would have been infuriating to hear The Tea Party riffed to shreds. Not all contemporary pop/rock musical theater needs to be riffed- for example, Alice Ripley didn’t riff her way through Next to Normal. 

In opera, I guess we could compare riffing to adding ornamentation to an aria, but even there, you sing it through once as written and then on the repeat you do it again with all your own added notes. If it were all riffed then the ornamentation would be meaningless. You have to hear it straight in order to appreciate what the artist an add to the aria. 

In modern pop singing, riffing absolutely helps plenty of singers cover up their lack of abilities. One of the most difficult things you can do in music is hold a sustained note, especially one sung piano or pianissimo, and not go flat or sharp. If you feel yourself going flat, just riff a descending scale into the line and cover it up. Riffing often feels like a more acceptable way to scoop up and find a pitch. Obviously this isn’t always the case, but if a singer has a bad ear for pitch, it can save you from jumping to wrong note. You can sense this all the time on top 40 radio. 

 

[bwaylvsong]

Posted: 6/27/18 at 11:08pm

@Whizzer, I completely agree with all of your thoughts, including those on riffing.
There wasn't a weak link in the cast, though Donnell got the least showy material and was the only one to have "imperfect" moments vocally. I thought the dancers were fairly extraneous except in "Surabaya Santa" but can understand their utility in fleshing out a tiny show in a huge venue. All in all, this production boasted the best contemporary singing in any show I've ever seen. Songs that never did anything for me in the past (specifically "Christmas Lullaby" and "Flying Home" really stood out to me tonight, and I learned to love the ones I already liked.
My point regarding riffing was to provide resistance to the "ewwww no riffing; this is musical theatre" crowd. This isn't R&H- for my taste, it would actually deter from the integrity of the music to *not* riff in this very specific style. I don't think riffing is necessary or even always welcome in other contemporary shows like "Next to Normal," but it is here.

Updated On: 6/27/18 at 11:08 PM

[uncageg]

Posted: 6/27/18 at 11:16pm

Going tomorrow night. Looking forward to it. This music holds a special place in my life.

Are they selling a tee shirt for this?

Updated On: 6/28/18 at 11:16 PM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/27/18 at 11:56pm

What’s the run time?

[scarlet721]

Posted: 6/28/18 at 12:02am

uncageg said: "Going tomorrow night. Looking forward to it. This music holds a specialplace in my life.

Are they selling a tee shirt for this?"

They are selling black tee shirts with all three of the off-center show names on it.  it's pretty, but they only have them to up to XL.  They have the same pattern on a tote bag.

I was underwhelmed by the show tonight.  I kept finding myself distracted by other things, which means my interest wasn't fully engaged.  I kept noticing the reflection of the EXIT signs in bottom of the reflective set piece, and it felt like James Sampliner as pianist and conductor was overplaying and drawing focus from the singers.  And I did not understand the presence of the "ensemble dancers."  I found a lot of their movements too jerky and again, they pulled my focus from the singers. 

Mykal Kilgore was a force of nature and did an excellent job.  Solea Pfieffer was exquisite and beautiful.  I love Colin Donnell's voice and enjoyed him, but his songs are the weakest of the lot.  Shoshana Bean did well in her first comic song "Just One Step," but not as well in "Surabya Santa" in the 2nd act.  And was she supposed to be showing that much of herself in that bit?

I was clearly in the minority of appreciation for the show, as the audience was quite vocal in their appreciation even before the show started.  It got a bit annoying to me actually, as the applause overrode the lyrics of the start and ending of some songs.

 

[JBC3]

Posted: 6/28/18 at 12:18am

bwaylvsong said: "@Whizzer, I completely agree with all of your thoughts, including those on riffing.
There wasn't a weak link in the cast, though Donnell got the least showy material and was the only one to have "imperfect" moments vocally. I thought the dancers were fairly extraneous except in "Surabaya Santa" but can understand their utilityin fleshing out a tiny show in a huge venue. All in all, this production boasted the best contemporary singing in any show I've ever seen. Songs that never did anything for me in the past (specifically "Christmas Lullaby" and "Flying Home" really stood out to me tonight, and I learned to love the ones I already liked.
My point regarding riffing was to provide resistance to the "ewwww no riffing; this is musical theatre" crowd. This isn't R&H- for my taste, it would actually deter from the integrity of the music to *not* riff in this very specific style. I don't think riffing is necessary or even always welcome in other contemporary shows like "Next to Normal," but it is here."

So the sticks can stay in halfway perhaps?

[scarlet721]

Posted: 6/28/18 at 12:30am

Jordan Catalano said: "What’s the run time?"

 

tonight it ran slightly over 2 hours including the intermission (started at 7:30 and ended around 9:35)

[RippedMan]

Posted: 6/28/18 at 12:48am

I will say, for whatever reason, riffing is a big deal in the musical theater community. It's considered the highest form of singing (Just seeing Natalie Weiss' show breaking down the riff), but, like others have said, I think people misinterpret riffing for good singing. When it's done - as in Wicked - it can be glorious. But, then, I saw the main girl in A Bronx Tale riff and it didn't seem natural. Also something about straight guys riffing is just...odd to me, but maybe that's just my own thing. 

But yea, I feel like there's nothing more powerful then a loud belted note for measures and measures. Thrilling. 

[bwaylvsong]

Posted: 6/28/18 at 12:57am

@JBC3, the stick needs to come out if you think it's inappropriate HERE. It can stay in halfway for other shows

ETA examples, take "Wicked" and "Avenue Q," which were written around the same time.  If you're annoyed  at riffing in "Defying Gravity," take the stick out and throw it outside of the theatre.  If you're annoyed at riffing in "Purpose," it can stay partially in.  It totally depends on the show or even the particular song.

Updated On: 6/28/18 at 12:57 AM

[SomethingPeculiar]

Posted: 6/28/18 at 1:10am

Since the Composer/Lyricist has been actively involved with this production, I imagine he would have said something to these performers already if he had a problem with their riffs.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 6/28/18 at 1:33am

I think this show it makes 100% perfect sense. It's basically, like someone else said, a cabaret act with a bigger budget. Each song wants/needs to stand out. I get it. I don't think that's wrong. In a full acting performance, that's when I think riffing can take a turn. Like in Dear Evan Hanse. I don't think Evan is a riffer. It doesn't suit his character. 

[defscott627]

Posted: 6/28/18 at 1:34am

SomethingPeculiar said: "Since the Composer/Lyricist has been actively involved with this production, I imagine he would have said something to these performers already if he had a problem with their riffs."

 

Yes this. JRB has been quoted multiple times saying that Shoshana is one of his favorite vocalists of all time (a simple google search would attest to this), so if he is fine with her runs, then who are we to say it has to be exactly as it was originally written?

Regarding riffs, I hardly thought they were overused tonight. I thought they were all very appropriate and in my opinion only added to the performances. In terms of why they are so popular, I feel that beautiful tone and high ranges seem to be a dime a dozen these days with universities churning out thousands of new talented actors annually, so when people hear these crisp runs, the riffs add a uniqueness to a voice. They also signify a certain flexibility of the instrument- certain people are born with anatomy that allows them to perform runs more cleanly and more flexibly, something that not even the aforementioned “Natalie Weiss’ riff lessons” could teach, and they are usually very impressive to many- a kind of “vocal gymnastics” if you will. 

Do some people use riffs because of a lack of singing ability? Yes, but anyone with any type of hearing could hear that Shoshana, Mykal and Solea are surely not covering up bad singing. They were all phenomenal tonight.